Baby Shower Planning and Invitation TipZ

Baby Shower Guest List

The guest list for a baby shower typically includes the friends, family members (both new mom & dad’s relatives), co-workers and church friends. If you are hosting a shower for work friends, or a church shower, you would not be obligated to include anyone outside that circle of friends. This is especially true if the paths of the different groups of friends do not often cross each other.

Today, more and more baby showers are co-ed events that celebrate both of the new parents’ involvement in the joyous event. Some people refer to this type of shower as a Jack & Jill Party, and it really is much more like a party than the traditional baby shower. If you are hosting a co-ed baby shower, husbands/partners, male relatives and confirmed bachelor friends of the new dad would also be included. Gifts are still the hi-light of the event!

How many people should be included? There are no rules as to the number of guests that should be included. The feelings of the expectant mother need to be considered, and the hostess also needs to define the number that she feels comfortable with. Location and/or budget may be determining factors in the decision.

Many new parents today are fortunate enough to have multiple showers held in their honor. The only rule that generally applies to this situation is that with the exception of immediate family, each friend or extended family member should appear on only one guest list. For most people, purchasing two nice gifts in a short time frame can be a strain on the budget.

In order to assure that mistakes are not made, consult with the mom-to-be about the guest list. If the shower is a surprise party, consult with the husband/partner or another close friend of the guest of honor as to the makeup of the guest list.

Baby Shower Invitations

A new baby is great cause of celebration! Hosting a baby shower is a fun way to get everyone together to honor the mom-to-be. Here are some adorable ways to invite family and friends to the party!
• There are several cute baby shower invitations with matching ensembles of everything you’ll need for your party. You can carry your theme out from beginning to end.
• If you are hosting a more formal shower,  custom invitations can be personalized with your special wording. If you are choosing a fun theme that matches the parents’ personality or interests, we have invites for just about every fun theme you can imagine.

If you are feeling a little more adventurous, and want to ensure that you won’t have any no-shows at your shower, try one of the following ideas.
• Deliver toy baby bottles with tags attached to the neck of the bottle with curling ribbon. The tag should contain all the important details about the party.
• Tie a handwritten or computer-generated tag with party details around the neck of a tiny stuffed teddy bear or rubber ducky.
• For or each invitation, blow up a balloon (but don’t tie it). Write all the details of your baby shower on it using a permanent marker. Deflate the balloon, and mail. The theme of the shower …”Carol is about to POP…let’s help her celebrate!” Then use lots of balloons in your decorating.
• Add a sprinkle of confetti to each envelope to make sure your invite stands out in any stack of mail!

Baby Shower Planning Tips

Consider the expectant mother’s feelings in your planning – This is a very emotional time for the mother-to-be. She will be feeling elated, excited, anxious, or exhausted…moods subject to change at a moment’s notice! With that in mind, decide what type of shower to host. Select a theme to start your planning. It is perfectly acceptable to include the father-to-be and his friends. Make sure the activities planned are a blend for all invited, and most of all, comfortable for the guest of honor.

When should the shower be held? The choice between a “pre-birth” shower (generally best if held before the 8th month) or a “post-birth” shower (4 to 6 weeks after the event) should be left to the guest of honor. Where there is a history of complications or if an adoption is involved, it is most appropriate to have the shower after the baby’s birth. A post-birth shower also allows the guests to “shower” the new bundle of joy with love!

Who should host? – A good friend, sister or sister-in-law is an appropriate host for a baby shower.

Create a guest list - Check with the mother-to-be to see if she wants to invite family, friends and co-workers. She may want to keep this a “family and friends” only affair if she will be having a Shower at work as well. Send out invitations at least 4 weeks in advance of the shower…in keeping with the theme of course!

Track the RSVPs Ask that guests let you know if they will be able to attend the Shower via phone or email. If you prefer to make things simple, write “Regrets Only” on the invitation to receive responses only from those who are unable to attend.

Be aware of diet restrictions of the mother-to-be and the rest of the guests - Check with the mother-to-be to see if she has any allergies, or is unable to eat certain foods during her pregnancy. If you do plan to serve alcohol, be sure to inform all guests (especially if it is in a punch and not clearly identifiable). Have plenty of non-alcoholic beverages available, as well as caffeine-free drinks for the mother-to-be.

Assign one or two responsible guests to help with the gifts - Your guest-of-honor will need help unwrapping her gifts, so be sure to have someone at her side with a garbage bag ready. Assign another guest to record the gifts so the mother-to-be can send her thank you notes after the shower.

Keep the party short and sweet - The mother-to-be will tire easily from all the attention and fuss. Serve the food shortly after guests arrive to expedite the party.

Don’t play games that are embarrassing or awkward - Be sensitive to the feelings of both the guest-of-honor and the other guests. Bear in mind that not everyone is fortunate enough to experience a trouble-free pregnancy and birth.

What to serve? - Feel free to serve anything that suits your theme and budget. Cake and punch, a hardy meal, an elegant catered offering, a potluck plethora, finger foods and munchies…the choice is yours! For a couple’s shower, serve heartier fare. If you choose to serve a full, sit-down meal, be sure to limit the number of guests to the amount you can seat comfortably around tables. It’s no fun to balance a full plate on your lap!

Use gifts for the baby as decorative pieces Teething rings or pacifiers can be used as napkin rings, and baby bottles make perfect serving pieces for nuts and candy…the guest of honor will be delighted!

Gift ideas – Group gifts such as a treasury of best-loved books with a personalized bookcase, a basket filled to the brim with much needed items that a new mom might not know about, a stroller, a high chair, or a giant Patrick from FAO Schwartz make wonderful group gifts. Engraved calling cards, blankets, a supply of diapers, or clothing would also be appreciated

Decorations for a Bouncing Baby Shower

Greet your guests with a fun inflatable stork at the door and watch all the smiles as they enter the part!

Create a focal point using the shower gifts. Place the gifts under a huge umbrella, decorated with pastel or brightly colored ribbons or bows. Arrange the gifts in a toy box (your gift to the new baby), a decorated wagon, laundry basket, or a Port-A-Crib (a wonderful group gift – especially for on-the-go parents). 

Tie helium-filled baby balloons in colors to match your theme to the guest of honor’s chair, the food table, anywhere in your party room! Balloons are always festive, and provide an inexpensive decorating tool. Hang balloons in odd-numbered bunches for the best effect. 

Add tissue flowers, gossamer streamers, ribbons, and bows around the room, and especially to the mom-to-be’s chair. Make it a chair fit for royalty!

Because the focus of everyone’s attention will shift swiftly away from mom to baby after the baby arrives . . . make the mom-to-be feel like Queen-For-A-Day with lots of special treatment. A tiara for her to wear on her “throne” would be a fun and much-appreciated touch!  Hang a personalized baby banner above the throne too.

Hang a clothesline and decorate it with pink and blue gossamer bows. Hang baby clothes, socks, and shoes with clothespins.

If you are decorating a large area, or want to make any area look more intimate and festive, drape and swag our gossamer across ceilings, walls, and the edges of table skirting. Twist two colors together for a stunning look. The gossamer drapes beautifully, and comes in colors to match any theme.

Gather 10-12 streamers in colors to complement your theme (or pastels if you are going with a general baby shower theme). The effect usually looks best if you combine at least two colors. Attach them to the ceiling in the center of the room (or over a serving table in a kitchen or dining room). Twist each streamer, and attach it to the wall at approximately head height. Attach the streamers to walls at equally spaced intervals around the room. We offer streamers in crepe, metallic, cracked ice, holographic, and gossamer materials.

Table Decorations:

Setting a table with the party ware, including the tablecloth, cups, plates, napkins and cutlery is the fastest way to create a focal point in a room. Start by setting your table with all the goodies in one of our ensembles, including setting a placesetting at the table for each guest. Setting the table with all the tableware creates a much more dazzling effect.

Add one or a few of the following touches to personalize your table:

For an original touch on your party table, use a pink or blue paint pen to draw random dots or squiggles on the handles of clear plastic cutlery. Tie the plastic flatware together with curling ribbon or gossamer streamers…big impact at a little price! 

For your tables, try an adorable baby bottle centerpiece that is easy and affordable and adds a special touch as well.

In addition to sprinkling confetti on your tables, consider adding a few additional “baby” items to the tables as decorations. Teddy bears with big pink or blue bows, a special heirloom doll, a stuffed stork, pink and blue pacifiers, rattles, etc.

For another fun centerpiece, make a baby sock “rose” bouquet. Start with a potted ivy or philodendron plant. Purchase 5 pairs of pastel colored baby socks (all the same color), 10 green pipe cleaners, and green floral tape. To make the roses, roll the socks from toe to cuff. Roll the cuff down around part of the rolled up sock to form the outside petal. Insert a pipe cleaner into the bottom of the rose, and wrap the floral tape around the bottom of the sock and the pipe cleaner. For an extra touch, make leaves out of green crepe paper, and attach them by twisting the crepe around the stem of the flower. Add the roses and a big bow to the potted plant. Baby can later wear the socks with pride . . . recycling at its best! 

To make an easy balloon centerpiece, use a bear, a filled bottle, or a pair of baby booties as an anchor for helium filled balloons. Tie 3-5 balloons (always an odd number) with pastel colored curling ribbon. Make sure the balloons are floating well above eye level for a more dramatic look. Another option is to put a piece of floral foam into the bottom of a gift bag or baby bonnet. Add three balloons attached to balloon sticks or wands, some curling ribbon curls, and pink or blue scrunched tissue paper or metallic shred. Very easy, inexpensive and festive! 

Fill baby bottles with nuts, M&Ms, pastel colored mints, etc., and scatter them around the room. Tie curling ribbon curls around the neck of the bottles for a festive touch. 

Use baby bibs as placemats.

Offer personalized napkins that complement your theme. We offer a large selection of dinner, luncheon and beverage napkins in an impressive palette of 20 colors. We also offer a wide range of ink colors, as well as a metallic foil, holographic foil, prismatic foil or a traditional ink imprint.

Napkins can be laid out on a buffet table, or can be displayed at each place setting. Place napkins in the center of each place setting at an angle, or unfold them and place them in glasses for a tall dramatic look. The napkins can also be tied (and bundled with plastic cutlery) with a multitude of items to match your theme. Try curling ribbon, gossamer streamers, ric-rac or ribbon. You can imprint your napkins with a special design from our selection or, for an additional charge, you can send us your own special design.

Silly Activities for a Baby Shower Party

One of the most wonderful things to remember about hosting a baby shower today is that there are no strict rules to follow. Plan a party that will be fun for all your guests, but especially enjoyable to the mom-to-be! Play one game, or choose a few . . . nothing is too silly when it comes to celebrating the birth of a precious child!

Prior to the shower, contact your guests and ask them to send you one of their own baby pictures (or have them bring the photos to the shower). Put the pictures in frames and number them. Keep a master list identifying the person and the picture. Hide the photos until all the guests have arrived (so the early arrivals don’t have an unfair advantage). Distribute paper and pencils to your guests, then display the photos. Have guests try to identify who each baby has grown up to be! The guest who identifies the most baby faces wins the game.

Before playing this game, run it by the mom-to-be, and make sure she will not be embarrassed by the activity. If she grants you permission, you’ll have a ball playing this game at the shower! Provide each guest with an index card, or piece of paper and a pencil. Ask them to guess the circumference of the stomach of the mother-to-be to the nearest half-inch. Have a flexible tape measure on hand, and measure the girth of the guest of honor. Award a prize to the person with the closest guess. For a fun variation on this game, have guests guess by cutting off a piece of gossamer streamer to a length that they think will fit around the mother-to-be’s tummy. Once everyone has had a chance to cut a length of string, put each around the mother’s stomach, and cut off the extra. Whoever is left with the shortest string wins!

Give each player a bag or baby bottle with 10 small treasures in it (candy, chocolates, little favors). Have bags labeled (or tie a tag around the neck of each bottle with pink or blue curling ribbon) with players’ names, so they don’t get mixed up. Let players know at the start of the game exactly when the game will be ending—this game can be played throughout an entire party if you so choose. The object of the game is to catch fellow players saying one of the following words or phrases: BABY, BOTTLE, DIAPER, CRYING, FORMULA, PACIFIER. To help players, post the words prominently on a board where they can be seen often. If someone is caught saying one of the words on the list, that person has to give up a treasure from their stash. The player with the biggest haul of goodies at the end of the game is the winner! If you choose to use baby bottles, each guest can keep the prizes they win, but the bottles can be given to the new mother. This game is always a big hit.

Label 10 pastel colored (adult-sized) socks with numbers 1-10 by using small pieces of paper attached with safety pins. Fill each sock with a different small “baby item” such as a pacifier, mucous suction syringe, formula scoop, thermometer, nail clippers, baby brush, rattle, teething ring, bootie, etc. Give a piece of paper labeled with numbers 1-10 and a pencil to each guest, and pass the socks around the room. Guests can only feel the outside of each sock to try to guess what is inside. The person with the most correct answers wins the game—but it’s not as easy as it sounds! Great fun!

Try playing a fun game of playdoh charades!  Make a list of common and not so common baby and birthing items.  Have the guests divide into teams and take turns drawing a word out of a hat.  The fun part of this game is that they don’t act out the word like normal charades, they must make it out of playdoh!  Great fun for everyone involved - creative or not!

The following games are terrific for couples’ showers, where dads are included.

For this game you will need a baby-sized or large doll, a cloth diaper, two diaper pins, and a watch with a second hand. For guests who are already experienced parents, provide a pair of bulky mittens to even the playing field. The contestant who posts the fastest diapering time is the winner! Another variation on this game is to play a game (with each couple working together) to assemble a Port-a-Crib. Mittens to the experienced! These games might seem quite silly, but they are guaranteed to fill a room with laughter.

Fill enough bottles of juice so there is one for each participant. Guests race to finish their juice, drinking out of a bottle fitted with a newborn nipple! The winner is the one to finish first. This game is especially amusing with dads involved . . . and the bottles can be sterilized later and given to the new baby!

Party Favors for a Baby Shower Bash

At a baby shower, the guest of honor receives all of the gifts from the party, but favors are an expression of thankfulness to all the guests and are certainly appropriate.

For this event, we recommend favors that has a special mementos touch such as personalized favors.

Photo albums can be given out for family and special friends to create a memory book for the precious new arrival.

Our large selections of frames can also be used as a favor and can be personalized just for the little one. Once your guest of honor has the baby, send a picture of the new angel to all the guests to place the picture in their new frame.

Bubbles are always a fun favor for your shower guests!

Give out Mod Mom favor bags filled with fun baby themed items such as lotion bottles, notepads and Jelly Belly jellybeans in “It’s a Girl” or “It’s a Boy” colors!